TimeSlips runs “Creative Care Institute for Dementia Care Specialists” in Wisconsin

April 11, 2023

TimeSlips aims to serve and support those who care for our elders by providing creative communication tools that work to infuse joy into care practices, deepening the connection and the meaning for all involved. 

One of our current, larger efforts to do so is happening through a project we are currently running in Wisconsin. We are proud to be working with 31 Dementia Care Specialists (DCS) from 29 Aging Disability Resource Centers across the state, including four Tribal communities, in an effort to provide them additional resources for the network of people living with dementia and the caregivers they serve. The purpose of this project is to train Dementia Care Specialists across the state of Wisconsin in the evidence-based TimeSlips methodology to ensure a delivery of high quality services for people with dementia with the intended outcomes of increased job satisfaction and fulfillment of DCS and decreased feelings of loneliness in the service recipients.

In this project, called “The Creative Care Institute for Dementia Care Specialists”, we share innovative communication techniques that allow for more enriching care partnerships between people with memory loss and those who care for them. First, we work with these DCS to certify them in our method, and later provide both physical and virtual tools for them to distribute to their network of family caregivers. Participating DCS will learn how to use TimeSlips in a variety of settings, including one-on-one, with groups, in Memory Cafe settings, during home visits, with other community-based organizations and more. 

Participation in this program provides Dementia Care Specialists with a TimeSlips All Access membership, Imagination Kits, DCS specific professional development opportunities through webinars led by TimeSlips staff and Certified Trainers, and the chance to participate in a state-wide art initiative, led by TimeSlips Trainer and Artist, Rob Knapp. 

TimeSlips is thrilled to be working with the Medical College of Wisconsin through an opportunity funded by Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment. The Medical College of Wisconsin is helping us evaluate the impact we are able to have, both with the DCS in a professional sense, and the care partners that receive our tools and use them in a personal way. 

Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting project!